Vehicle suspension.



No. 885,845. PATENTED APR. 28, 1908.

' R. G. HANDY. VEHIGLB SUSPENSION.

APPLIOATION FILED DEC. 17, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

20562? jizmify WYT E$5153.- a

7 ROBERT t. HANDY, or BAY CITY, nienIcAN.

VEHICLE suspension.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 28, 1908.

Application filed December 17, 1906. Serial No. 348,129.

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that 1, ROBERT G. HANDY, a citizen ofthe United States of America, rcsiding at Baity,'in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Suspension, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in vehicles and more especially to the means for supporting the body upon the running gear.

The objects of the invention are to reduce the transmission of the shocks and vibrations of the running gear to the body of the vehicle and to always maintain the body of the vehicle in a substantially horizontal plane irrespective of the tilting of the axle or running gear due to inequalities of the road.

To this end the invention consists in interposing between the spring suiports for the body and the running gear of tto vehicle,

a system of levers so arranged as to change or' modify the deflection or vibration of they axles to which they are attached, in trans mitting the same to'the springs, which are suprported by said levers; I

. ie invention further consists in the particular construction and arrangement of said levers and parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, reference being bad to the accompanyingdrawings in which f Figure 1 is a front end elevation, partly in section, of a )ortion of the running gear of a motor vehicle embodyingathe invention; Fig. 2 a similar view of a modified construction; Fig. 3 adetail showing a side elevation of Fig. 2, drawn to a smaller scale; Figs. 4

and 5 are end elevations of other modified constructlons; and Fig. 6 1s a partial plan vlew of Fig. 5 showing the axle, levers and springs.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings 1, 1 re resent the front wheels of a motor vehic e pivotally attached to the ends of the axle 2 1n the usual manner and3 represents thebody supporting frame secured to and supported so e y upon the ordinary form of elliptic springs 4. These springs instead-of being secured at their lower side to the axle as in the usual construction are. sup orted with the axle extending through tie springs,

their upper half extending some distance above and their lower half some distance below the axle. I

To support the spring and pivotally attach the same to the axle, connecting bars 5 and 6 are pivotally attached at one end to the axle near its op )osite ends, the bars being each extended through the spring which is adjacent. to its pint of attachment to the axle and pivotally attached at its opposite end to the lower side of the other spring. A cross connecting bar or strut 7 1s pivot-ally secured at itsends between. the ends of the without a corresponding upward movement of the lower end of the other bar orsupport, and asthe load exerts at-all times a vertical downward force, no such movementof one su )port' will be caused by the load whenthe axle is in a horizontal position, as the angle het-ween'each liar and the strut. is the same and each supports an equal portion of the load. But when one'wheel is raised or lowered by passing over anqohstmction or depression in the road and the axle correspondlngly raised or lowered at one end, theangle between the'stru't and the connecting bar attached .to this end of the axle, will be increased or decreased, thus increasing or dc creasing itsower tolift the load. At the same time t mangle between the strut and the other connecting bar will be inversely increased or decreased and thus the spring near the raised end of the axle will be lowered owing to the decreased action of its connecting bar, and the spring near the opposite end of the axle will be raised by its connecting bar an equal amount, thus maintainin the body of the vehicle in a substantially horizontal plane.v The vertical movement and other vibrations of the axle as well, are thus moditied and decreased by the connectin bars in being transmitted to the springs w 1011 are free to operate in the usual manner to absorb the vibrations and thus the tipping of. the body, all jolts and jars incident to passing over obstructions or rough roads, or from other sources, are practically all eliminated before reaching the body of the vehicle, thus makin a'ver'y smooth, easy riding car.

In t e construction shown in Figs. 2 and the connecting bars 9 which are similar to the bars and 6 exce t that they extend upward l from the axle wit crossed upper ends. The springs are connected by astrut 10 and are pivotally attached at their ends to the body supporting frame 11 which'is curved to exf ten beneath the axle between the points of i attachment of the springs thereto. Fig. 4-shows a construction in which a drop axle 12 is used and the body frame 13 is senecting bars 15 which are pivotally attached 1 at their opposite ends to the axle. In this construction the spring serves as the strut or connect-ion between the upper crossed ends of the connecting bars. a In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the connecting bars 16 are arranged similarly to those in Fig. 1, being pivotally attached at one end to the axle and extending downward T therefrom and connected at their crossed lower ends by a strut 17. Two sets of-these bars and struts are )rovided, one at each side i of the axle and two lialf-s rings 18 are )referi ably used, said springs iieing pivotally sef cured intermediate their ends to the middle ofthe struts by clips 19 and connected to 5 the body frame 20 at their ends by means of All of these different constructions operate substantially 1n the same manner and other ments of supporting or connecting bars each attached at one end to the axle and its opposite end tothe load supporting member and a member connecting the ends of the bars. By this system of leverage the shock transmitted 5 to the body is reduced as well as maintaining the body in a substantially horizontal plane.

My device may be used as well on the rear axle as the front axle and I do not wish to 1 desire to protect the principle of having the wheel ends of theaxles act as the moving end of a lever, the load support being at the practically stationary fulcrum end of the lever,

I whereby the inequalities of the road move the wheels but do not materially change their load.

Having thus fully described my invention i what I claim is 1. In a motor vehicle, the combination :with an axle, a body supporting frame, a cured to the middle of a spring 14 ivotally attached to the upper crossed ends 0 the con- 1 strut substantially paralle to the axle and a spring yielding means supporting the frame on a strut, of a pair of obliquely crossed, independent bars in a plane substantially arallel to the axle, each articulating an ent of the strut to the remote end of the axle.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with an axle, and a body supporting frame, of. elliptic springs secured to t at their upper side and extending below the axle, bars pivoted at one end to the axle near the free ends thereof and each extending m- V ward through the ad jaccnt spring and pivott forms may be devised, but all embody the elet ally attached to the lower side of the opposite I spring and a strut or bar connecting the lower sides of the springs.

In testimony whereof I alhx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT G. HANDY.

Witnesses:

()r'ro F BARTIIEL, OLIVER E. BARTHEL.

e body frame at their upper side and extending below the l limit myself to the constructions shown but 

